PHYLOGENETIC ANALYSIS OF SELECTED STRAINS OF RABBIT HAEMORRHAGIC DISEASE VIRUS ON THE BASIS OF N-TERMINAL FRAGMENT OF THE GENE ENCODING STRUCTURAL PROTEIN VP60

The purpose of the study was the phylogenetic analysis of 16 European strains of the rabbit haemorrhagic disease (RHD) virus identified in 1989-2004, on the basis of N-terminal fragment of the gene encoding structural protein VP60. The obtained sequences of the strains were compared to the sequences of 30 strains of the virus received from the GenBank gene database. As a result of phylogenetic analysis of all the strains, they were divided into six genogroups, which were principally formed on the basis of the time of their identification, and the place of isolation of the RHD virus, which confirms the present hypothesis of genogroups creation among this virus. Furthermore, in our studies, a clear and visible difference was obtained between the classic strains in genogroups 1-5, and the strains referred to as antigen variants - genogroup 6.